Mars

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NASA: Interstellar Visitor Is Not a Spacecraft

Agency releases new photos of comet 3I/ATLAS, thought to be older than our solar system

(Newser) - NASA has released a series of long-awaited images of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS as it zipped past Mars in mid-October, and though most of the images are blurry, the agency says it's confident this is, in fact, a comet, not an alien spacecraft. That idea, floated by Harvard astrophysicist...

Blue Origin Scores Big Win With Huge Rocket

Company recovered New Glenn's booster after deploying twin Mars orbiters

(Newser) - Blue Origin launched its huge New Glenn rocket Thursday with a pair of NASA spacecraft destined for Mars. It was only the second flight of the rocket that Jeff Bezos' company and NASA are counting on to get people and supplies to the moon—and it was a complete success,...

Perseverance's Sample Could Be Its Most Important Yet

Rocks collected from dry river channel may hold potential signs of ancient microscopic life

(Newser) - NASA's Mars rover Perseverance has uncovered rocks in a dry river channel that may hold potential signs of ancient microscopic life, scientists reported Wednesday. They stressed that in-depth analysis is needed of the sample gathered there by Perseverance—ideally in labs on Earth—before reaching any conclusions. Roaming Mars...

What Marsquakes Reveal About the Planet's Insides
Mars and Earth Have
a Surprise in Common
NEW STUDY
Sep 4, 2025 7:41 AM CDT

Mars and Earth Have a Surprise in Common

Findings from InSight indicate Mars has a solid inner core of the same proportion as our planet

(Newser) - Scientists revealed Wednesday that Mars' innermost core appears to be a solid hunk of metal just like Earth's. The Chinese-led research team based their findings on seismic readings from NASA's InSight lander on Mars, which recorded more than 1,300 marsquakes before shutting down in 2022, per the...

Where Aliens Might Actually Pick Up Our Deep Space Signals

Researchers map Earth's strongest space transmissions to guide SETI efforts

(Newser) - A new analysis by researchers at Penn State and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory takes a closer look at where and when alien civilizations might catch signals from Earth, reports IFL Science . The study, published in Astrophysical Journal Letters and discussed at the 2025 Penn State SETI Symposium, maps...

Mars Rover Adds to Its Strange Rock Collection

NASA's Perseverance spots a helmet-shaped rock, dubbed 'Horneflya'

(Newser) - Space nerds, brace yourselves: NASA's Perseverance rover has stumbled across a rock. But it's not just any rock on the Martian landscape that has scientists in something of a tizzy, reports Space.com , it's in the shape of a medieval helmet or a Harry Potter-esque sorting hat,...

Duffy Wants a Nuclear Reactor on the Moon, Fast

Move aims to outpace China as NASA faces budget cuts

(Newser) - Sean Duffy, the interim NASA administrator and Transportation Secretary, is reportedly set to announce an accelerated push to deploy a nuclear reactor on the moon—a move that would mark his most significant step since stepping into the dual role. Documents reviewed by Politico indicate this initiative sets a...

Martian Meteorite Sells for Out-of-This-World Price

Martian rock NWA 16788 had been expected to fetch millions at Sotheby's

(Newser) - An out-of-this-world item sold for an equally out-of-this-world price on Wednesday. The largest Martian meteorite ever found on Earth—a 54-pound hunk known as NWA 16788—sold at a Sotheby's auction for $5,296,000, outpacing the $2 million to $4 million it was projected to go for. CBS...

After Years of Scrutiny, Mars Drops Skittles Color Additive

EU prohibits use of titanium dioxide, called out in Trump administration report

(Newser) - Skittles consumers in the US may notice a subtle change in the candy: Mars has removed a color additive linked to health concerns abroad. Titanium dioxide was banned in the European Union in 2022 but remains permitted in the US. The company has contested the health risk claims. But...

Starship Plans a Tuesday Launch
Starship Plans
a Tuesday Launch
May 27, 2025 7:11 AM CDT

Starship Plans a Tuesday Launch

This will be first SpaceX flight since 2 explosions earlier this year, with a Mars mission on the horizon

(Newser) - The last two Starships sent up into space exploded midair , sending debris raining down on Earth. SpaceX now hopes for better results with the ninth unmanned test flight of its powerful new rocket, with a launch window from the Starbase facility near Brownsville, Texas, set for Tuesday starting at 7:...

Musk: SpaceX Is Prepping for 2026 Mars Landings

And if those go well, manned launches in 2028, he says of planned Starship missions

(Newser) - Elon Musk's long-held dream for his SpaceX spacecraft to make it to Mars appears to be ever closer to coming to fruition, at least according to Musk. In a weekend post on X , the social media platform he owns, Musk noted that "the first Starships to Mars will...

Mars Is Hiding Oceans of Water
Mars Is Hiding Oceans of Water
NEW STUDY
Aug 12, 2024 3:53 PM CDT

Mars Is Hiding Oceans of Water

Liquid water detected on planet for first time

(Newser) - Scientists searching for signs of water on Mars say they've found enough of it to cover the entire planet to a depth of a mile—but it's not a resource that thirsty Martian colonists could easily access. According to a study in the journal Proceedings of the National ...

Jupiter, Mars to Be Chummy in Night Sky This Week

Planets will seem extremely close in pre-dawn skies of Wednesday

(Newser) - Mars and Jupiter are cozying up in the night sky for their closest rendezvous this decade. They'll be so close early Wednesday, at least from our perspective, that just a sliver of moon could fit between them. In reality, our solar system's biggest planet and its dimmer, reddish...

Mercury Might Be the Diamond Planet
Mercury Might Be
the Diamond Planet
new study
Jul 22, 2024 9:14 AM CDT

Mercury Might Be the Diamond Planet

Study suggests it has a miles-thick layer of the gems beneath the surface

(Newser) - Mars gets all the buzz , but Mercury just gained some bragging rights among the planets—a new study suggests it may have a layer of diamonds 9 miles thick, located deep below its surface, reports Live Science . These diamonds exist only in theory at the moment, but the study in...

Musk Could Become Father of Mars Colonization

Mogul reportedly has volunteered his sperm to populate the planet, would like to create species

(Newser) - Elon Musk has lot going on—Tesla, SpaceX, and X, for starters. But the entrepreneur's priority is establishing a civilization on Mars, the New York Times reports. That dream might be out of reach—"You can't just land one million people on Mars," said an aerospace...

Mayan Intercropping Could Be Key to Food on Mars
Mayan Intercropping Could
Be Key to Food on Mars
NEW STUDY
May 12, 2024 1:45 PM CDT

Mayan Intercropping Could Be Key to Food on Mars

Researchers are experimenting with the ancient method on Martian-like dirt

(Newser) - The international space community has its sights set on humans landing on Mars by the mid-2030s, but a big question remains once astronauts get there: what will they eat? Researchers in the Netherlands at Wageningen University & Research are working to solve that particular problem in the long-term, when humans...

How to Get Mars Rocks to Earth for Cheap? NASA Shrugs

Space agency seeks ideas to revive Mars Sample Return Mission

(Newser) - Calling all innovators: NASA is looking for out-of-the-box ideas about how to get Martian rocks to Earth in the next 15 years without breaking the bank. The space agency says it can't achieve this top priority before 2040 with the $5 billion to $7 billion in funding currently outlined....

NASA Puts Out Call for Volunteers: 'Martians Wanted'

Live and work in Mars simulator for a year to help space agency prep for the real thing

(Newser) - For those just itching to find out what it's like to live on the red planet, NASA has your dream job. The space agency is looking for four volunteers for its next mission to simulate life on Mars for a year. Selected applicants would actually be living in Houston,...

In Welcome Spot on Mars, Frozen Water Apparently Hides
Massive Reserve of Ice
Found Near Equator of Mars
NEW STUDY
Jan 23, 2024 2:40 PM CST

Massive Reserve of Ice Found Near Equator of Mars

Huge deposits detected near a likely landing spot of future astronauts

(Newser) - Deep beneath Mars' equator lies what is believed to be a supply of frozen water that, if melted, would cover the entire planet in an ocean of at least 5 feet deep. That's according to the European Space Agency , whose Mars Express spacecraft discovered the suspected reserve of water...

Investigation Lobs Disturbing Allegations Against Candy Giant

CBS News finds Mars uses chocolate harvested by kids as young as 5

(Newser) - A CBS News investigation finds that candy company Mars, Inc. continues to use cocoa harvested by child laborers in Africa, and calls into question the company's stated commitment to keeping kids there in school. The media outlet found kids as young as five working at each of the cocoa...

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